I just bottled some a few days ago. I'm not that experienced with it, but really there's not much reason to avoid making your own, especially if you already know you like drinking it. The investment is pretty small and if you ruin a batch for some reason, you can always start over with a new scoby. They seem easy to come by.

Is there a super special to flavor kombucha. I don't think I'd like it straight up.

I am currently doing this right now! I also think the new formulation is really weak and boring. I miss the punch and fizziness to it. I'm scared to go too far beyond the expiration date but I think a couple weeks in the fridge maybe. Definitely keep it in the fridge.

I also think it's boring, but GT's is my favorite of all the brands of kombucha, so.... I have some in the fridge now that expired early this month... still waiting to drink it. I should pick more up so it can expire, in case this experiment works. How long should we go, svethardt?

GuineaPig wrote:

Is there a super special to flavor kombucha. I don't think I'd like it straight up.

I like to have a little glass whille I'm cooking dinner, like instead of a cocktail. I really like the citrus GT's, but I usually get Greens because it seems like there's lots-o-stuff in it that should be in me, plus it grosses out my husband, so win-win!

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

Used to be until the changed up the formula and no it's not as fizzy. It sucks that they were exploding in people's bags and all...but now I bet a bunch of people aren't buying them anymore. I actually almost hate it now without the pop and fizz.

Ok, so I thought that GT's was expensive.... I went out to lunch today to this local, organic restaurant and ordered some pomegranate kombucha, because I wanted to expand my horizons... it was $6. I got served the teeniest glass! It was probably half of a GT's bottle! Insanity! (I had a gift certificate that I had to use by the end of the month, so I was trying to spend money or there is no way I would have ever ordered a $6 drink).

It was tasty, but not for $6. It made me realize that I'm getting a hell of a deal on GT's. I miss the pop and fizz, too, which is why I'm experimenting with expiration dates...

ok, but how do you make it with different flavors? This whole process is intriguing yet very scary. I'm such a scardy cat when it comes to culturing anything at home. The first time I ate a batch of home made yogurt I had the 9 and the 1 already dialed just in case. Of course I'm much better now and make it every week. Maybe one day I'll be able to say the same about Kombucha. But I must get a full tutorial first!

The flavoring aspect is easy-peasy, you just add stuff. I was resisting posting my tutorial (and I no longer work for VegNews), but here is my my guide (http://vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do ... 04&catId=2), and please hit me up with any questions you have. I've been brewing and experimenting for a few years. If you want bubbles/carbonation (and Lard knows I do!), use air tight bottles and leave 'em on your counter for at least a week before refrigerating.

You don't need a mother...look for a store-bought brew with a particularly dense "floatie" and that'll do it. Yours in happy fermentation! :)

A minor miracle has happened today. I'm actually starting to consider making my own Kombucha. I have so many questions on when to add flavoring, what kinds, etc. so get your inbox ready for a storm of pm's from me when I finally decide to take the plunge. I think I'm also going to buy one of the books mentioned in the article. Thanks so much for sharing this. You're the best!

A minor miracle has happened today. I'm actually starting to consider making my own Kombucha. I have so many questions on when to add flavoring, what kinds, etc. so get your inbox ready for a storm of pm's from me when I finally decide to take the plunge. I think I'm also going to buy one of the books mentioned in the article. Thanks so much for sharing this. You're the best!

I started brewing mine last week! My favorite kombucha was made by Organic Pastures, a local company out here that mostly sells raw dairy but for some reason also was brewing kombucha. I became addicted to theirs over the summer, then they stopped coming to my farmers market and I couldn't get it anymore. Last week I went to a market near my new house and they were there. I went and asked if they had any and they told me with the new laws they can no longer brew it because they were unable to get it under the legal alcohol limit and they didn't want to get a liquor license to sell the small amount they sell, plus it would be harder to sell at markets. ANYWAY, I semi-jokingly asked if they sold their kits and he kinda looked left and right and then said they did! (I am guessing they are not supposed to sell them at the market). I got a three gallon glass jar, the tea they use, the sugar they use and their recipe! I am so excited for it to finish! THREE GALLONS OF KOMBUCHA!!!

I started brewing mine last week! My favorite kombucha was made by Organic Pastures, a local company out here that mostly sells raw dairy but for some reason also was brewing kombucha. I became addicted to theirs over the summer, then they stopped coming to my farmers market and I couldn't get it anymore. Last week I went to a market near my new house and they were there. I went and asked if they had any and they told me with the new laws they can no longer brew it because they were unable to get it under the legal alcohol limit and they didn't want to get a liquor license to sell the small amount they sell, plus it would be harder to sell at markets. ANYWAY, I semi-jokingly asked if they sold their kits and he kinda looked left and right and then said they did! (I am guessing they are not supposed to sell them at the market). I got a three gallon glass jar, the tea they use, the sugar they use and their recipe! I am so excited for it to finish! THREE GALLONS OF KOMBUCHA!!!

Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:03 pmPosts: 6308Location: The State Of No R's

vijita wrote:

The flavoring aspect is easy-peasy, you just add stuff. I was resisting posting my tutorial (and I no longer work for VegNews), but here is my my guide (http://vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do ... 04&catId=2), and please hit me up with any questions you have. I've been brewing and experimenting for a few years. If you want bubbles/carbonation (and Lard knows I do!), use air tight bottles and leave 'em on your counter for at least a week before refrigerating.

You don't need a mother...look for a store-bought brew with a particularly dense "floatie" and that'll do it. Yours in happy fermentation! :)

I love you!

_________________"...anarchists only want to burn cars and punch cops."- nickvicious"We'll be eating our own words 30 years from now when we're demanding our legislators outlaw aerosol-based cyber dildo-wielding death holograms."- Brian

I have a hard time getting my batches really fizzy, but other than that, making kombucha has been so much easier and less gross than I expected. Now I need a new big jar since the scoby separated into two layers again, giving me more kombucha brewing ability. I haven't ventured into flavors yet much, except for different flavors of tea.

I'm glad that making it yourself has worked out so well for many of you! I'm still a little scared to make it myself. I can barely ferment cucumber into pickles or carrots without them coming out funky.

Unfortunately I don't live near a WF anymore BUT I do live in Ithaca, and someone recently opened a restaurant here called Culture Shock that is very vegan-friendly and has kombucha on tap (at least 3-4 flavors at a time I believe). And they serve awesome salads and vegan soft serve yogurt with toppings. Heaven!

The flavoring aspect is easy-peasy, you just add stuff. I was resisting posting my tutorial (and I no longer work for VegNews), but here is my my guide (http://vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do ... 04&catId=2), and please hit me up with any questions you have. I've been brewing and experimenting for a few years. If you want bubbles/carbonation (and Lard knows I do!), use air tight bottles and leave 'em on your counter for at least a week before refrigerating.

You don't need a mother...look for a store-bought brew with a particularly dense "floatie" and that'll do it. Yours in happy fermentation! :)

I thought that most additives during the fermentation phase were a bad idea and could cause scoby issues? (like killing it off or changing the percentages of bacteria to yeast?) I read that flavors should be added after your primary fermentation when you bottle it?

Also I thought it wasn't the caffeine and sugar that the scoby needed but something else in the tea besides caff...its still something in tea they need, but not caffeine. I had no probs using decaf teas.

_________________Evolved a vascular system, so I went from bryophyte to lycophyte.

I used to make my own so I can never justify the cost of buying it bottled now. It is so ridiculously overpriced. Also, I find the store bought stuff to be really weak tasting, like they watered it down a ton. Anyone else who makes their own feel the same way? Mine was crazy strong and I'd only be able to drink a teeny little glass of it a day, so I was never able to drink it all and I got sick of wasting it (in hindsight I guess I could have started bottling it but I just didn't want to) so I stopped making it. Maybe I was brewing it too long, but I liked it that way.

_________________[...]then i pooped pink sparkles out of sheer hatred. -allularpunk